


Scaredy Wolf

by literaryoblivion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Scared Derek, Scary, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 08:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2501972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the cool breeze, the changing leaves, and general fall feeling in the air comes Stiles’s excitement for one of his favorite holidays, Halloween! And with that comes one of his favorite ghoulish pastimes: the infamous Beacon County haunted maze. He and Scott have been going every year since they were old enough to go in, and this year, he decides that it’s time to introduce Derek to the wonder that is the haunted maze.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scaredy Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> The wonderful [Gisele](http://reborngp.tumblr.com/) drew art to go with this fic (embedded in the fic), and it's awesome and so perfect! Thank you! Thank you also to [infectedcolors](http://infectedcolors.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing real quick! :)
> 
> For the Tumblr post of art/fic [click here](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com/post/100782688943/fic-title-scaredy-wolf-author-literaryoblivion).

With the cool breeze, the changing leaves, and general fall feeling in the air comes Stiles’s excitement for one of his favorite holidays, Halloween! And with that comes one of his favorite ghoulish pastimes: the infamous Beacon County haunted maze.

He and Scott have been going every year since they were old enough to go in (so since they were 13), and while their entire lives recently have essentially turned into their own perverted haunted maze, Stiles still likes to go to the Beacon County maze. There’s just something about the fact that knowing none of it is _actually_ real and that he’ll come out of it completely unharmed that is… comforting.

This year, he decides that it’s time to introduce Derek to the wonder that is the haunted maze. Their relationship is new; they’ve only just barely started being comfortable enough to call each other boyfriend. But, Stiles can’t help but picture Derek and himself sipping cider, wrapped around each other at the picnic tables near the maze.

He imagines having the excuse of being scared in the maze to snuggle in close to Derek and cling to him, thinks of Derek shielding him to protect him from the actors in silly costumes and gory makeup. He pictures Derek being unfazed at the entire thing (because, really, he’s naturally scary and doesn’t need a costume to be) but playing along with Stiles, pretending to be scared too so Stiles won’t feel alone. And then he smiles when he imagines Derek taking him in his arms when it’s all over, squeezing him tight, kissing his face, and promising he would always be there for Stiles and would always protect him from everything, real or pretend.

Yeah… okay, so maybe Stiles is so far gone on Derek already despite the new relationship. No one has to know about his weird and oddly not sexual fantasies but him, okay? Besides, it’s not like he’s actually expecting that things will play out this way, but he can at least hope for some extra cuddling and an excuse to be clingy, and that’s all he wants.

Unfortunately, Stiles is right, and his fantasy does not play out as predicted.

No… it’s far _worse_.

~

They're already on a date at a local diner, polishing off a burger and fries when Stiles presents two tickets to the haunted maze to Derek with a grin and wiggle of his eyebrows.

“What is that?” Derek asks with a frown.

“It’s what we’re doing for our next date tomorrow.”

“Who says I’m going to say yes?”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “You like me too much to say no.”

Derek sighs because Stiles is right. “What are we doing? If I have to dress up in a tux or something because we’re going to a symphony, I’m voting we give the tickets to Scott and Kira and listen to the radio in my car and make out instead.”

Stiles laughs because he’d vote for that option too to be honest, and he shakes his head. “No, it’s tickets to the haunted maze. It’s a couple towns over, and it’s the best haunted maze in the area. I usually go with Scott every year, but I thought _this_ time,” he pauses to reach across the table to take Derek’s hand, “I’d go with my boo.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Honeybun?”

Derek shakes his head.

“Snookums? Pooh bear? Cupcake?”

Derek glares at him.

“Sour wolf?”

Derek at least doesn’t make a face at that one (probably because Derek is used to Stiles calling him that nickname), and Stiles goes on.

“So, whaddya say? Will you go with me to shield me from all the scary monsters?”

“You know they’re not real, right?”

Stiles nods adamantly. “That’s the best part about it. You and I will both come out of it unscathed and with all our limbs intact.”

“I don’t really like haunted houses.” Derek shrugs sheepishly, his nail picking at a spot on the table like he’s embarrassed.

“You know they’re not real, right?” Stiles parrots back to him with a smirk. He thinks maybe he shouldn’t have said that, that maybe Derek was admitting something, or at least close to admitting something, but it’s too late now because the words are out and Stiles of course turned it into a joke.

Derek, though, doesn’t act put off or offended. He rolls his eyes and scowls at Stiles, just like Stiles thought he would, so maybe it’s fine.

“It’ll be fun,” Stiles reassures him. “And then afterward we can go get hot chocolate or cider or something.”

Derek seems to perk up a little at that, and Stiles accepts that as Derek’s answer and changes the subject to possibly ordering a milkshake to share so they can be really gross and sip out of the same glass while they stare into each other’s eyes. Derek huffs out a laugh before he tells Stiles “Hell no." and they order separate milkshakes.

Although they totally do stare into each other’s eyes… they just drink from their own glass.

~

When they finally get to the haunted maze, there’s a long line. It’s chilly, but Stiles came prepared with his usual multiple layers and hoodie, plus his werewolf boyfriend always runs hot, so he’ll be fine. Derek’s in his usual leather jacket, although it’s zipped up all the way and his hands are in the pockets. His shoulders are hunched up like he’s cold, only Stiles doesn’t think that’s really the reason.

Stiles scoots in closer to Derek, sneaking his hand into Derek’s jacket pocket to hold his hand. He mumbles out the word “cold” as an excuse, but Derek tilts his head to give Stiles a tiny smile before linking their fingers together in his pocket, squeezing Stiles’s hand. Stiles returns the smile, and because Derek is still looking at him, he leans over to give Derek a quick peck on the lips.

They inch up closer and closer to the entrance in line along with everyone else around them. The maze workers only let in small groups one at a time, trying to space everyone out, waiting a few minutes before letting in the next group. Derek and Stiles still have a good twenty or thirty people ahead of them, so it might be a while.

There’s a group of very young teenagers ahead of them, bragging about how many times they’ve been through, how they’re not scared at all. A few of them try to discount the other’s claims, reminding them how loud they screamed when they went through a certain part or came across a certain feature. The more the teenagers talk about the maze, the tighter Derek squeezes Stiles’s hand.

He doesn’t notice it at first. Just thinks Derek’s not paying attention, but when his hand starts to hurt he tries to wiggle his fingers to get Derek to loosen his grip.

“Sorry,” Derek mumbles, releasing his hold on Stiles’s fingers.

“It’s okay.” Stiles kisses Derek’s shoulder. They’re closer now, and Derek’s shoulders seem more tense and hunched than they had been before. “You okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. Fine. Just… cold.”

Stiles knows it’s a lie, doesn’t need super senses to pick up on it. But he doesn’t know what else it could be. It can’t be that Derek is scared, right? He’s a freakin’ _werewolf_. He’s fought and killed _real_ things that are way scarier than anything in this stupid maze. What is there to be scared of? Derek could probably flash his eyes or his fangs while he’s in there, and the paid actors in costume would be the one screaming and running away in terror.

He doesn’t say anything though, and as they move closer to the entrance, watching each group enter and hearing the subsequent screams, Derek becomes more and more tense.

They are the next group, waiting for the all clear from the workers that they can go. It’s he and Derek, another couple, a man and woman who look to be in their early thirties, and a group of three guys who look like they’re in college. Stiles is glad there’s not anyone younger in the group with them. While they will eventually split off since it is a maze, you still spend a good chunk of it with the people you’re sent in with. Sometimes that’s a good thing and other times it’s not.

Derek has not looked at Stiles once the whole time they’ve been waiting, and while they are still holding hands, they are no longer in Derek’s jacket pocket but resting between them at their sides. Derek looks… resigned? Like he’s trying to brace himself for what’s next. It’s not a look Stiles has seen on Derek because it’s more sheer (or brass depending on how you look at it) confidence that Derek wears before a fight. But this? This is different.

When the workers wave them through, they all shuffle past the gates through the dimly lit tunnel before they get to the maze. There’s really nothing in this tunnel, just a strobe light, but it’s supposed to start making you freak out before you get to the other side. Stiles knows it’s nothing and tries to walk through it quickly, but he has to practically drag Derek through.

“Come on, there’s nothing here. All the good stuff’s out there,” Stiles says, pointing in front of them. Derek picks up the pace, but only a little.

Of course as soon as they exit the tunnel, something (a mechanical spider) jumps out at them. Derek jumps, but he doesn’t scream, but the three college guys and the girl from the other couple definitely do. Stiles grins and pulls Derek towards the right.

“Okay, I think we should go this way. They change up the maze every year, but they usually have the better stuff this way.”

“Are you sure?” Derek asks, looking longingly to the left where the other couple has started walking. The college guys seem to be sticking close to Stiles and Derek though.

“Yes. They usually tell the younger kids to go left, so… come on.” There’s that resigned look again, but Derek lets Stiles guide him through to the right.

At the first corner is where they meet their first monster, a bloody gorilla-type thing. It’s nothing really, but you’d never know that from the scream that escapes from Derek. He’s already running, dragging Stiles with him, who didn’t even get a good look at the dude’s costume to have it be worth it, but it’s too late.

Of course the running means they run right into another haunt, a group of zombie actors stalking towards them. By the time they get away from that group, Stiles feels like his arm is out of his socket and that he might be deaf.

“Dude, Derek! Wait!” Stiles says. Derek stops long enough for Stiles to catch his breath.

“Why do you keep running?! You’re missing everything! Plus, it’s a good way to get us hopelessly lost.”

“It’s a maze,” Derek says in monotone, frantically turning his head looking around him like something is going to jump out at them at any minute.

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but I’d like to get out of it sometime tonight. I try to map out where we’ve been in my head,” he says pointing to his temple. “I can’t _do_ that if I can’t see where we’re going because it’s blurring past us.”

Derek huffs. “Fine. As long as it means we get out of here faster.” The last part he says under his breath, and Stiles just barely catches it.

Shit. Derek _is_ scared. Which means…

Stiles is going to have to be the one clung to not the one doing the clinging...

“Come on.” Stiles offers his hand for Derek, pulling him in next to him as he continues, “Stay close to me, and don’t let go of my hand. But, like don’t cut off my circulation or wolf out or dislocate my arm… They have people in orange vests scattered around to help people leave. We’ll find them and go.”

“I’ll… I’ll be fine. I can make it through, we don’t have to leave. I know you like this place.”

“It’s fine, Derek, I can come another time.”

Derek pauses to think about it. “No. Let’s go through it.”

Stiles doesn’t miss how Derek shuffles into his space even more and doesn’t let Stiles get too far ahead of him.

They follow the path of least resistance, well, try to anyway. Stiles vaguely remembers where they usually keep the scarier sections and tries his best to avoid them. He can’t help it when the only way to go is through them though.

Stiles practically goes deaf through the “land mine” area because the ground is riddled with holes and hands come up to grab at your ankles, and Derek screams the entire time they have to go through it. He jumps to try to dodge them, but only gets to another spot where they are. Stiles just tries to get them through it as fast as he can.

When they have to go through a broken down bus, where Stiles knows for a fact there’s a creepy clown hiding in the seats, Stiles tries to warn Derek and brace himself, but it’s no use. Even though Stiles goes first so the clown jumps out at him instead of Derek, Derek still screams and rams into Stiles’s back to get him out faster.

He tries to remember to ask, to make sure Derek is okay when they are in a space where nothing is jumping out at them yet, and Derek nods, saying no, he doesn’t want to find an orange vest person. Stiles resists sighing because he’s sure Derek’s embarrassed enough at his reactions to these things, and he doesn’t want to make Derek feel worse.

Derek clings to him so hard while they go through the decrepit barn full of chainsaw-wielding masked men afterwards that Stiles can’t breath and worries Derek might have crushed a rib or two. He’s still wrapped around Stiles when they come out the other side in an open space, both trying to catch their breath before moving on. Briefly, Stiles kind of likes the reversal, glad he’s not the clingy, scaredy-cat human.

At one point, Derek is taken by surprise and so thoroughly terrified that Stiles is almost positive that he shifted into beta form, claws, fangs and all, for a split second while Stiles crowded behind him to try to get him to calm down enough to move away and not attack. It was dark and there was a strobe light, so he can give Derek the benefit of the doubt, but Derek’s glowing eyes give him away, staying for longer than the hair and claws. He doesn’t comment on it though as they quickly shuffle along through the rest of the maze, Derek’s hand clutched tightly around his. He was pretty freaked out himself, and he’s just glad there’s no photographic evidence of them clinging to each other, Derek wolfed out and Stiles holding on to him for dear life. That is not something that his future progeny should see.

They are almost near the end; Stiles can see the exit up ahead, but they always save the scariest stuff towards the end in “The Gauntlet.”

“Okay, Derek, we’re almost done. See?” Stiles points to the exit, and Derek nods, sighing a little in relief. “The thing is… the scariest stuff is at the end. I think our best option is just to run through it. Just don’t look and run.”

“I run faster than you.”

“You don’t gotta brag about it, geez.”

Derek huffs exasperatedly. “No, I’m saying maybe I should…”

“What, carry me?”

Derek shrugs.

“Seriously, dude? You want out that bad that you’re going to carry me while you run out of here?”

Derek ducks his head while shrugging again.

Stiles sighs. “Fine, but let’s just remember I’m not the scared one here, okay? I haven’t even screamed once this whole time.” Derek winces. “Not that I’m saying I’m better or anything, I just… nevermind. Ok, bend down a little, I’m climbing on your back.”

Derek lowers himself enough for Stiles to hop on to his back, and when Derek stands, Stiles wraps his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Derek holds on to his legs before squaring himself for the row of hedges before them. A few people have already started making their way through, and the screams are terrifyingly loud. But when Stiles turns his head to look behind them, there’s a small crowd that have all gathered, looking expectantly at Stiles and Derek, waiting for them to go first.

Stiles gives them a wink before turning back and leaning forward to whisper in Derek’s ear, “Ready?”

Derek gives a firm nod and stands a little taller while he adjusts his grip on Stiles. Stiles giggles, and Derek tilts his head in question.

“I’m trying very hard to resist saying something like ‘mush’ or ‘high-ho silver’ right now,” Stiles replies.

“Too bad you just said them,” Derek groans.

“Good thing you love me,” He says it quickly, and only after it’s out of his mouth does he realize they’ve never really said the “L” word to each other. And of course when he says it, it’s offhandedly while they are in the middle of a freakin’ haunted maze with Derek barely holding on to his wits. Granted, it’s not like he said “I love you” in the traditional way, but still. He really hopes that Derek is too freaked out to notice Stiles’s racing heartbeat against his back.

“Too much, sometimes,” Derek says, and out of the corner of his eye, Stiles can see Derek’s cheeks flush.

Stiles groans because why does Derek have to be so damn adorable and say things like that?! “We are so making out later and discussing what just happened, but let’s get out of here first.”

“Hold on,” Derek says and then takes off.

It’s ridiculous really. Both Stiles and Derek are screaming and shouting, and Stiles is bouncing all over the place as Derek tries to jump and weave between the hay bales and the flying mechanical spiders and bats and ghosts and various other bloody, gory things. Stiles doesn’t have time to feel bad for the guy dressed up in the gory Freddie costume that Derek knocks over as he tries to keep Stiles away from the creepy girl with her intestines falling out and a mouth of razor sharp teeth who’s chasing them with a pitchfork.

Stiles isn’t even sure what else is part of the gauntlet because Derek is running so fast past everything. It’s easier for Stiles if he keeps his head tucked down, his face buried in Derek’s neck while clinging on to him for dear life, instead of looking around. It seems to be a little more comforting to Derek, and it doesn’t sting his eyes as much.

He can hear everything though, and it’s just a cacophony of shrieks and screams and yells peppered with the sounds of things like saws and clanging metal and roaring. The group of people that had been behind them had decided to copy them, and so Stiles can hear the sounds of pounding footsteps and heavy breathing surrounding them.

He can feel people knocking into him and Derek, but Derek continues on unfazed. It’s like how he is when up against a supernatural threat, no longer scared anymore but determined. Stiles must admit, he likes that Derek a little more. There’s a brief moment of panic when he sees and then feels Derek being slammed into by someone else who was jumping away from a lunging werewolf (of all things).

Derek loses his balance briefly, and Stiles almost goes flying off of him, but Derek’s reflexes being what they are (supernatural), Derek stands upright again, rights Stiles, and makes sure the person that ran into him is okay before he presses on. Stiles knows that he should probably be scared, but really all he wants to do is laugh right now at their situation. He doesn’t though because he’s pretty sure Derek would be pissed at him.

Finally, they make it across the gauntlet, and really, Stiles has never seen Derek more focused (supernatural threats aside). He is sprinting towards the exit and is going so fast that many of the actors don’t even bother trying to scare them at the end of the line. Derek leaps through the archway of haybales that is the exit and not until they are 15 feet away where all the food vendors are does he finally stop.

He’s a little out of breath, which Stiles would think is surprising, but he suspects Derek was using more of his werewolf strength than he’d care to admit in his efforts to get out of there as fast as he could. He lets Stiles down off his back gently, and Stiles moves around to face him.

“You okay now, big guy?” Stiles asks with a smile.

Derek lets out a sigh, takes a deep breath and stands tall, his shoulders square, and he gives Stiles a firm nod.

Stiles shakes his head fondly. “Come on, I think they have churros, and I want some cider.” He links his arm with Derek’s, and they walk to the nearest vendor. They talk about other things while they wait in line, anything besides what they just went through, and find an empty bench to sit on while they eat and drink.

When they sit, Derek pulls him in close to his side, his arm slung over Stiles’s shoulders. “Sorry about… back there--” Derek starts, but Stiles holds up his hand to stop him.

“You don’t have to apologize, Derek, it’s fine. I wish you would have told me before we went in, but it’s okay to be scared of those things and not like it. Now I know not to take you to a haunted house, maze, thing. Next time I’ll bring Lydia, then I can be the one who clings to somebody.”

Derek chuckles and reaches down to take a sip of Stiles’s cider, which makes Stiles pout. Derek kisses his pout quickly and then hands him back his drink.

“Thanks,” Derek says softly, and Stiles knows he’s not saying it because he let him take a sip of his drink. Stiles snuggles in closer and places a kiss on Derek’s neck, the part of Derek that’s the closest to his mouth.

“Love you,” Stiles says. And this time it’s a little easier to say it, and it’s not an offhanded remark. He means it and wants Derek to know he means it.

He can feel Derek kiss the top of his head before he replies, “I love you, too.”

Stiles grins. He sets his now empty cup on the bench next to him and wraps his arms around Derek’s waist. Derek does the same, rubbing Stiles back and arm as they sit there wrapped around each other. It’s warm and comforting, and Stiles wants to stay like this as long as he can.

He might not have gotten what he pictured when they were in the maze, but snuggled with Derek on a bench afterwards was exactly how he imagined.

And it’s perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [my tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com) or [my twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).


End file.
